I've had enough of this.
I am writing this reply in an attempt to further reassure TheRoundTable and hopefully give her some pointers as to how she can work effectively with her child's school.
pastoralacademia:
[With regards to SEN, Year 2 is relatively early for specific learning needs to be diagnosed so I really wouldn't worry on that score yet.] IMO there is more harm from this statement than from what indigo and Mrz are saying.
Please focus on the word 'diagnosed'. This does not mean that needs are ignored or that teachers are just waiting until KS2 to highlight difficulties and act upon them. Teachers (and in an ideal world, early years practitioners at pre-school settings - although nationally this is recognised as a bit hit-and-miss at present) will have noted concerns (usually in conjunction with discussions with the parents) from a very early stage and all these provide evidence towards an eventual diagnosis, where appropriate.
At my school (Primary 4-11, NOR 300), we have specific, high-impact intervention groups from early Foundation Stage. These groups have specific targets, related to individual children and to age-related expectations. Some groups have an academic focus, some have a behaviour focus, some have a social skills focus - a whole range. Some groups consist of just 2 children and some (although not at FS) consist of a maximum of 10. Some children of course, receive 1:1 intervention.
All these groups are evaluated on a weekly basis, discussed at team meetings, progress reported to me every half-term (from which I analyse the data and use it to inform school evaluation) and discussed in full with me at every pupil progress meeting. I (or another member of the senior leadership team - which includes my SENCo) monitor/observe these groups as part of our monitoring schedule. The are effective, successful and fun. No child feels 'picked on' or embarrassed about being in an intervention group. I know this because I do actually talk to the children and we discuss this. Furthermore, no child attends these groups for longer than they have to.
Therefore, at no time are any needs ignored or swept under the carpet.
I have seen literally hundreds of children, from all sorts of different backgrounds, with the same characteristics as the TheRoundTable's dd, eventually progress according to age-related targets and reach expected levels (i.e. with no special needs). This progress and achievement has invariably happened as a result of support instigated by the school and in most cases, by parents and teachers working co-operatively together. I hope that TheRoundTable finds this direct experience reassuring.
It may be, of course, that there is a specific learning difficulty. I would advise TheRoundTable to continue to work co-operatively and communicate effectively with her dd's school - in this way, difficulties, problems and worries can be brought to the fore at the earliest opportunity.
I am aware, of course, that not all schools/teachers/HTs/SENCos offer the same level of support and willingness to work with parents. As a headteacher, I am committed to raising standards within the profession and would, as I have said before, encourage parents to enter into a co-operative, non-confrontational, non-accusatory dialogue with the school to ensure the needs of their child(ren) is/are being met. Most teachers and headteachers I know welcome additional information parents can provide on any subject. There have been occasions when as headteacher, I have had to intervene - usually in cases where the teacher has become defensive as a result of parents being aggressively confrontational. As a result, time was wasted and parent teacher relationships came close to breaking down, neither of which was helpful for the child in question.
As a parent myself, I know only too well that it is very easy to lose objectivity when discussing your children - this is why procedures and policies are in place. Not to obstruct discussion but to aid it. I would therefore advise that you follow these procedures and policies at all times.
TheRoundTable - I do hope you find this helpful and that it provides some sort of benchmark or guidelines as to what you can expect from your school. As an aside, the SEN and FS provision at my school was judged in our last Ofsted as outstanding and as part of my role, I advise other headteachers within my local authority on assessment. I will stay on Mumsnet for now so that you can email me again for further advice if you like.